Robotics News

In mid-January, NASA will take the next step in advancing robotic satellite-servicing technologies as it tests the Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM aboard the International Space Station. The investigation may one day substantially impact the many satellites that deliver products Americans rely upon daily, such as weather reports, cell phones and television news.

The world is getting a long-awaited first glimpse at a new humanoid robot in action mimicking the expressions of a one-year-old child. The robot will be used in studies on sensory-motor and social development - how babies learn to control their bodies and to interact with other people.

Two robots equipped with instruments designed to "listen" for the calls of baleen whales detected nine endangered North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of Maine last month. The robots reported the detections to shore-based researchers within hours of hearing the whales, demonstrating a new and powerful tool for managing interactions between whales and human activities.

At a noodle restaurant in Xiamen, a new chef repeatedly shaves dough into a boiling wok with efficiency and precision. A human simply wouldn't be able to keep up. The robot shaver, capable of making four bowls of noodles a minute, is also inexpensive.

NASA Television will broadcast the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Kickoff event on Saturday, Jan. 5, starting at 10:30 a.m. EST from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The event also will be streamed live on NASA's website.

With an eye toward enhanced safety and greater productivity, Johns Hopkins engineers have joined colleagues at four other universities in a project to create new ways for humans and robots to work together cooperatively.

Smart automotive technologies that help drivers avoid collisions, navigate and improve fuel efficiency should make Europe's roads safer, ease congestion and reduce pollution. But just how beneficial are they? Potentially very, according to vehicle manufacturers, researchers, automotive suppliers and other stakeholders who answered that question in a landmark EU-funded project.

Researchers have developed an elegant and powerful new microscale actuator that can flex like a tiny beckoning finger. Based on an oxide material that expands and contracts dramatically in response to a small temperature variation, the actuators are smaller than the width of a human hair and are promising for microfluidics, drug delivery, and artificial muscles.